the e-Testament
Luke 6:60-69
Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.”
Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, “Does this throw you completely? What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to where he came from? The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this.” (Jesus knew from the start that some weren’t going to risk themselves with him. He knew also who would betray him.) He went on to say, “This is why I told you earlier that no one is capable of coming to me on his own. You get to me only as a gift from the Father.”
After this a lot of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him. Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: “Do you also want to leave?”
Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.”
Reflection
Lord Jesus,
help me to become increasingly aware of Your presence in my life.
Amen.
Prayer
Stop and think about what life would be like without Jesus Christ in your life? A scary thought! Most of us who have been born into the Christian faith would never have known life without Him. He has always been there, a presence of someone so close to us that we often take Him for granted. We may be busy going about our everyday lives and forget that Jesus is really here with us, but subconsciously we know that we are never alone, He is ever present. Is it any wonder then that the words of Peter, 'Master, to whom should we go?' resonate with many of us? There is no one else and nothing else that could fill the void in our lives should we remove Jesus Christ altogether. Deep down we know that Jesus is at the very core of our being and His presence is all that matters. The accompanying video may seem cheesy but it puts across well the idea of the silent ever present nature of a strong, loving person that carries us through life - for us that is Jesus Christ.
Fr Andrew Ebrahim SDB - Rector of Chertsey Community